Everlasting
by Ally823
Summary: Sam is feeling a little down so Cam attempts to lift her spirits in his own way. Takes place during a very slightly AU 'Unending'. SamCam friendship & hint at DanielVala ship


**Title: **_Perpetuus_

**Summary:**_ Sam's feeling a little down so Cam attempts to lift her spirits. Takes place during 'Unending'_

**Pairings:**_ Sam/Cam friendship_

**Spoilers:**_ Arthur's Mantle, teeny one for Line in the Sand, and Unending, of course, _

**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own _Stargate SG-1. _No infringement is intended. This story is written strictly for the purposes of entertainment._

* * *

"Sam," Cameron Mitchell said, announcing his prescence to the distracted scientist. She was sitting at the same control table that'd been her office for the past two weeks, now studying the technology the Asgard had left.

Sam glanced up and smiled. "Oh hey, Cam." She turned back to her work. "What's up?"

Cam flinched. He knew she was trying to walk on eggshells. He didn't blame her. "Look, I want to apologize for the way I acted during the briefing." She looked up questioningly. "It's just being on this damn ship for two weeks. I can't stand it. And now I find out that I'm going to have to wait even longer."

He immediately felt bad when he saw the hurt cross her face. "I'm sorry," she said, suddenly finding her work _very_ interesting. "It's my fault we're trapped here. If I hadn't made the bubble—"

"We'd all be dead," Cam finished forcefully. "Sam, you did the right thing under the circumstances. Look at me. I'm serious. We're _all_ grateful to you." She nodded quickly in agreement but still hadn't looked up at him. Worried, he came closer. "Oh, Sam," he whispered, seeing that she was crying. He pulled her into a tight hug, which she limply fell into.

She wiped her face but more tears silently continued to fall. Finally, she said shakily, "You and Vala aren't the only ones getting frustrated. Can you imagine how it feels to be the one to get you and your friends into a huge mess and not be able to clean it up. Where everything you think of just isn't good enough? You have no idea how badly I want to fix this. After all I've ever done in the program, I can't believe that something that should be so simple is what finally gets me."

For the first time, Cam caught a glimpse of how hard this must have been for her and what it was doing to her. The woman in the briefing room was just a front. The real Sam was being torn apart by the realization that she wasn't enough. Or so she thought. Cam had read the reports. SG-1 had been in certain death situations before and gotten out with a couple scratches. He didn't think it was fair that Sam had to carry the strain of being everyone's only hope. After ten years, it must have felt like she was invinsible and always going to be able to solve every scientific problem.

"You don't have to do this alone. Vala's already signed herself up to help you here. Jackson's looking through the records. It's just General Landry, Teal'c, and I who've got nothing really. I can help you and Vala out in here too. We've worked together on stuff like this before. Remember when we were out of phase?"

Sam pursed her lips. "Which time?"

"Both."

"Cam, the first time we didn't do anything. You went offworld to help Teal'c. I stayed behind to watch Bill. It wasn't until Daniel went out of phase that we were able to solve anything. Before for that, the two of us wandered around the SGC bored out of our minds. And the second time. . .we did work together, I guess."

"There ya go."

Sam sighed and pulled back. "Don't worry about it, Cam. I'll find something. It's what I do, right?"

"So you're sure you don't want my help?"

"I'll think about it."

"Okay. So is there anything I can get you while you do your thing?"

"I'm fine."

Cam straightened and squeezed Sam's shoulder in comfort. She smiled slightly and turned back to the console. He turned, walked away and was almost out the door when Sam called his name.

"What?" he asked.

She flashed him another, whole-hearted smile. "Thanks."

He returned the smile and walked out.


End file.
